The saying goes, when in Rome - eat eggs! Well, history says Romans enjoyed breakfast (as well as lunch and supper) more than other cultures which traditionally only enjoyed two meals per day. Romans are credited with creating the classic omelette and the 14th century Italian book titled Libro Della Cucina has the first-ever recorded mention of scrambled eggs. Want to know some other things you didn't know before about eggs?
Yolk means yellow. Coming from an old English word for the bright, sunshiny colour, use of the word yolk means technically eggs have a "white" and a "yellow".
There's a chicken that lays Easter eggs. The Araucana chicken from Chile lays blue, green, brown and pink eggs, earning the name Easter Egg Chicken.
Cloudy egg whites indicate freshness. Carbon dioxide naturally escapes through the egg shell resulting in a clearer egg white the longer the egg ages.
This is all interesting and may help you win Jeopardy someday, but a more useful discussion would be, how do you eat the best tasting eggs? Well, we're with the Romans on this one. You can't go wrong with the simple scramble.
Here are our top tips for the best scrambled eggs:
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The top ingredient for adding to scrambled eggs is butter. If you use butter, use half a teaspoon per egg adding it to the pan at the same time as the whisked egg - not before. This results in the best taste and consistency. To duplicate this taste with hearth-healthy EVOO, we recommend the Butter Olive Oil with a pinch of sea salt.
- Whisk eggs only moderately, or use a fork. This prevents the egg white and egg yellow (yolk) from combining too much. Leaving a roughly incorporated consistency instead of a uniform slurry will produce a more satisfactory mouthfeel to the cooked egg.
- Add liquid to the whisked egg. Adding cream, milk, water, or even carbonated water can result in a fluffier bite to the finished egg. This only works on a moderately whisked or fork-stirred egg. If combined with a thoroughly whisked egg, the result will be an undesirable foamy, spongey, or watery consistency.
Try this technique as shown in our Truffled Soft Scrambled Eggs. This is the consistency you want.
- Add salt only after the eggs are cooked. The flavour is diminished when fully incorporated into the dish, so a simple sprinkle of salt when plating produces the best taste experience. We recommend the Himalayan Pink Sea Salt or Flor de Sal for a pure, high-end, natural enhancement. Or for a bit more fun, try any of our new Specialty Salts or Spice Blends from Salt Cellar or Saltwest Naturals.
(An interesting side note: cooked eggs develop more proteins as they cook. Incorporating salt into uncooked eggs begins breaking down the proteins we are usually hoping to add to our diets by consuming eggs.)
- A final enhancement to take your eggs to the next level is by adding a spritz of Balsamic Vinegar. We say spritz because it doesn't take much and we have a preference of not taking away from the creaminess of the well-constructed, yet simple scrambled egg.
This is the same idea behind Eggs Benedict topped with lemon-y hollandaise or slice of tomato. Just reach for your Balsamic and think about the same amount as a squeeze of a lemon wedge. This is the amount of liquid you want from a drizzle of Traditional Balsamic or Lemon White Balsamic and the result is amazing. You can also try the Italian Herbs Balsamic or the Jalapeno Lime White Balsamic, but these flavours are considerably less... simple.
For more reading, check out this article on Epicurious about how to add acid to your eggs. Sounds divine!
Then get out your eggs and try these tips! Sometimes we all need to be reminded to return to a baseline for the most tried and true recipes. These tips are extremely simple, but result in an elevated baseline for scrambled eggs. Remember, when returning to simple flavours and simple methods, elevating the quality of your ingredients matters. Fine oils, vinegars, and salts will keep your simple eggs singing.
